Operating manual for tuning apparatus



April 14, 1953 D. H. MITCHELL 2,634,523

OPERATING MANUAL FOR TUNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24, 1945 l N VEIY TOR.

Patented Apr. 14, 1953 OPERATING MANUAL FOR. TUNING APPARATUS Donald H. Mitchell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Motorola, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application October 24, 1945, Serial No. 624,170

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to operating manuals for tuning apparatus and, while it is of general application, it is particularly adapted for embodiment in a manual of a push-button tuner of a radio receiver for a mobile vehicle, such as .an automobile, aircraft, etc. 4 Automatic tuners of the push-button type have come into rather general use in radio receivers for aircraft, automobiles and other mobile vehicles. In such applications, the tuning apparatus includes provisions for changing the settings of the several push buttons as the vehicle travels from one area to another. For example, in an aircraft receiver there may be provisions for setting one or more of the push buttons to different range signals, beacon signals, broadcast signals, etc. In conventional push-button tuners for receivers of this type, there has been no provision for indicating to what particular station 'or signal each of the push buttons is set and heretofore there has been devised no such indicating provisions that could be readily reset in use.

It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide a new and improved operating manual for tuning apparatus in which the setting indication of the manual may be readily changed in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved operating manual for tuning apparatus in'which the manual may be readily reset to indicate the characters of any desired transmitting station or signal simultaneously with adjustment of the tuning apparatus to such station. or signal. a

In accordance with. the invention, an operating manual for a tuning apparatus of a wavesignal translating apparatus comprises an enclosing housing adapted to be contacted for operation and a plurality of elements rotatably mounted in the housing and having a plurality of peripheral indicia thereon, together with-provisions for restraining free rotation of such elements. IThe housing has one or more apertures registering with the periphery of the elements for viewing the indicia thereon and provisions for producing rotation of the elements to change the visible indicia.

For a better understanding of the invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings While its scope will bepointed out in the appended claim.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an operating manual for tuning apparatus embodying'the invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view and Fig. 3 a side elevation of a portion of a conventional tuning apparatus, to' which the operating manual of the invention is applied.

Turning now particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated an operating manual for a tuning apparatus of a wave-signal translating apparatus such as an aircraft receiver. This manual comprises an enclosing housing including a portion adapted to be contacted for operation and preferably constructed in the form of a pair of opposed molded plastic cup-like members it and ii. The members ill and H are of com} plementary configuration so that, when secured in juxtaposition, they form an enclosing chamher, while they present an exterior surface of rectangular cross-section. The members it and ii are provided with axially serrated or roughened surfaces lta, i la, respectively, adapted to be contacted by a finger of the user in operating the manual. The members [0 and i I are further provided with aligned axial cores liib, lib, respectively, adapted to receive a cylindrical clamp or bolt [2 extending therethrough and cooperating with a sleeve nut :3 to retain the members E53 and ll in opposed aligned relation.

The operating manual also includes a plurality f molded plastic wheel-like elements 54 and i5 mounted in the housing Hi, i I and rotatably mounted on the clamp E2, E3. The elements it and 15 have a plurality of peripheral indicia, such as transmitting-station call letters or characters preferably hot-stamped thereon. The manual further includes provisions for restraining free rotation of the elements it and I5 on the clamp l2, 33. For example, a pair of friction washers It and il disposed adjacent the hubs Ma and 55a of the elements It and i5, respectively. The resilient friction washers i5 and H are'restrained from rotation on the clamp l2, 53 by suitable keys or keyways or, as shown, by the complementary flats on the Washers an on the clamp sleeve l3.

The housing comprising the members iii and H is provided with an aperture made up of opposed aligned apertures iQc and He in the upper peripheries of the members ii! and H andthis aperture lilo, lie is disposed to register with the periphery of the elements it and is for viewing the indicia, that is the station call letters or characters, on the elements M and P5.

The manual further includes provisions for producing rotation of the elements i l and F5 to change the visible indicia. These provisions may be in the form of a second aperture consisting of opposedregistering apertures iild, lid spaced from the contact portion i ta, 5 is so as not to be accidentally engaged; for example, the aperture ltd, lid is preferably on the underside of the manual housing. aperture Hid, lid is also disposed to register with the periphery of the indiciaelements it, to to per. iit frictional e'iigagement therewith by the-operators finger to rotate the elements M and i5 individually to change the visible indicia. The operating man- 'of the treadle bar type.

ual is adapted to be supported on a push-button lever l8 having an aperture Ilia near the end thereof for receiving and supporting the clamp l2, l3 while adjacent end surfaces of the members l and II are provided with recesses Hie and I la, respectively, for engaging and clamping the manual rigidly on the rod I 8 to be supported thereby. If desired, additional bolts or rivets 19 may be provided for clamping the elements and ii more securely to the operating rod is. It will be understood that the members Iii and l I, being made of molded plastic, may be provided with reinforcing bosses and fillets, as required.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, there is repre sented the application of a manual of the invention to an operating rod or lever of a tuning apparatus of the type including provisions inidividual to each operating rod for resetting the adjustment of the tuning'apparatus corresponding to such rod. While the tuning apparatus may, of course, be of any desired type, there is illustrated by way of example a tuning apparatus This apparatus comprises an actuating shaft 26, which may be connected to a tuning condenser or other tuning element, rotatably mounted in a frame member 2| and having secured thereto a crank disk 22 from which project parallel to the axis a pair of treadle bars 23 and 24. Extending between the treadle bars 23 and 24 is an actuating rod or lever 25 disposed for longitudinal motion transverse to the axis of the shaft as by mounting it in a slide forming a part of the frame 2!. Carried by the rod 25 is a sector plate 2'5 pivotally supported on a pin 28. The plate 27 has a pair :2

of shoulders 27a, 21b substantially diametrically opposed and disposed to engage the treadle bars 23 and 24, respectively, when the rod 25 is actuated to the left.

The rod 25 is coupled to the rod 3 through a mechanism which, upon relative longitudinal adjustment between the rods 25 and i8, is effec tive to clamp or release the plate 27 with respect to the actuating rod 25. This mechanism may be of any of several forms known in the art but is shown somewhat schematically as comprising clamping member 29 into engagement with the disk 27 and, when moved to the left, releases the blaniping'mmber 25 for disengagement from the disk 27; .Since the tuning apparatus and its resetting mechanism, per se, constitutes no portion of the present invention and is well understood in the art, it' is believed'a detailed description is unnecessary. In brief, with the clamping member 29 forced into engagement with the disk 21 by the motion of the rod l8 to the right relative to the rod 25, actuation of the push button 10, H and the rods [8 and 25 to the left is effective to cause the shoulders 21a, 21b of the plate 21 to engage the treadle bars 23 and 24 and to actuate them to rotate the shaft 20 until the treadle bars are in alignment withthe shoulders 27a, 2711. This position corresponds to the setting of the tuning apparatus to the desired signal or station corresponding to the particular push button. If it is desired to change the setting of the tuning apparatus corresponding to this button, the push button may be operated to the left beyond the position corresponding to a setting of the treadle bars 23 and 24 so that the stirrup 3! disengages the clamping member 29. Thereupon the tuning apparatus may be adjusted to any desired setting by manual tuning means (not shown) and the push button IB, H withdrawn to the right so that the stirrup 3l re-engages the clamping .member 29 to clamp the disk 21 to the actuating rod 25.

It will be apparent that, with the operating manual of the invention described above, simultaneously with the operation of the push button 19, l l to change the setting of the tuning apparatus, the elements l4 and I5 may be engaged by the finger of the operator through the lower aperture Ed, I l d to adjust these elements against the restraining bias of the friction Washers l6, l! to indicate the station or signal reference characters or call letters corresponding to the new setting of the tuning apparatus. The elements will, of course, be operated untilthe appropriate call letters or reference characters are visible through the upper aperture Hie, llc. At the same time, the aperture lad, lid, being in the underside of the enclosing housing, is so disposed that accidental frictional engagement and movement of the elements l4 and I5 during the'normal operation of the operating manual is unlikely to occur.

Thus with the operating manual of the invention, the indications of the several push buttons of a tuning apparatus of amobile vehicle receiver may be readily changed from time to time as the setting of the tuning apparatus for each push button is changed when travelling from one locale to another.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

Push button controlled apparatus including in combination, an operating lever, an operating manual on said lever having a housing with a portion adapted to be contacted for operating said lever, said housing including a pair of complementary cup-dike portions, cylindrical clamp means supporting said housing portions in opposed aligned relation on opposite sides of said operating lever, a pair of elements rotatabl'y mounted'on said clamp means on opposite sides of said operating lever within" said cup-like housing portions and having peripheral indiciathereon, said housing having'at least one aperture therein for viewing said indicia.

DONALD H. MITCHELL. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 176,594 Burrow Apr. 25, 1876 630,855 Brooks Aug. 15, 1899 1,787,860 Hirsch Jan. 6, 1931 1915,563 Wainwright June 27, 1933 2,266,711 Crosby et al Dec. 16, 1941 2,277,665 Illmer Mar. 31, 1942 2,408,302 Erik sson 1 Sept, 24:, 1946 

